Seattle-area real estate agents go where homebuyers scroll

Lights. Camera. Sold. As new generations of homebuyers enter the housing market, real estate agents are adapting their marketing strategies to win their attention — and business.

- Alexis Weisend, Tribune News Service

Agents, once popping up on highway billboards and showing up at community events to draw homebuyers and sellers, are now building influencer-like presence on social media. Marketing real estate online isn’t new, thanks to giant websites such as Zillow and Redfin, which have for years offered a platform for agents and properties with professional photos and videos. But some real estate agents are now taking to Instagram Reels and TikTok to build a base of followers and potential buyers.

Those agents offer raw, entertaining virtual home tours that are often boosted by polarised remarks from commentators who may be just curious. Still, agents say this marketing approach does ultimately yield legitimate buyer leads. "I've never gotten someone to work with me through an open house,” said Monica Church, 30, a popular YouTuber turned Seattle real estate agent, “but I get several people a week who reach out to me through my social media.”